Questions or Need Help Related to The Hunting Report Newsletter.Call us at 800-272-5656 or 305-253-5301

Search:

HuntingReport.com

This news bulletin was sent exclusively to Email Extra subscribers of The Hunting Report at least 24 hours prior to becoming available to other viewers.

printer-friendly version

New Developments in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe

(posted December 17, 2004)

The Hunting Report has just learned of the following developments, and we thought you would want to know about them right away. We're keeping both notes short because we know it's a busy time of year. Merry Christmas! And thank you for upgrading your subscription to E-Mail Extra. - Don Causey, Editor/Publisher.

There are disturbing indications that a renegade outfitter may be gearing up to offer illegal hunts for Marco Polo sheep and other species in Afghanistan. The hunts are illegal because the government of Hamid Karzai has recently imposed a ban on all hunting within the country. It goes without saying that no one should consider a hunt in Afghanistan at this time. US citizens would be particularly at risk because of the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to import an animal into the US taken in violation of local law anywhere in the world.

The good news in this otherwise bad-news bulletin is, the reports of possible illegal outfitting indicate huntable populations of game in Afghanistan, including Marco Polo sheep, have survived the recent war. If the country remains stable, legal hunting some day is not out of the question. We'll have more to say about that in the January issue of The Hunting Report. In the meantime, spread the word that hunting is closed in Afghanistan.

The second major development we feel compelled to tell you about is one that we know will spark controversy. It is the publication of an official report exonerating the South African hunting company, Out of Africa, of any wrongdoing in Zimbabwe. Out of Africa, as you may or may not know, has been the subject of scores of angry and accusatory e-mails in recent months. The company has been accused of just about every possible kind of wrongdoing - failing to bank money properly in Zimbabwe, overshooting lions, bribing government officials, illegal outfitting and more. Here at The Hunting Report, we have refrained from publishing these e-mails because none of them contained provable assertions. And that continues to be the case up until today.

What Out of Africa and some other non-Zimbabwean companies have done is help bring clients into hunts on seized properties - that is, properties that once belonged to white farmers and now belong to black Zimbabweans. Out of Africa has also made wide use of black PHs, all of whom don't meet with approval by established operators. These actions have created a huge backlash among the largely white hunting establishment in Zimbabwe, which views hunting previously white properties as a form of treason or treachery. Indeed, many Hunting Report subscribers appear to share that view. After all, if the land seizures were "illegal" by international standards, Out of Africa's hunts are illegal. Also, because they involve profiteering on others tragic losses, they are unethical.

Here at The Hunting Report, we do not have a quarrel with those who take a dim view of Out of Africa and what they are doing in Zimbabwe. That is not the purpose of this bulletin. The purpose of this bulletin is to point out that the company's actions in Zimbabwe have been given what appears to us as a green light by the government. Some of you will find that information useful as you puzzle out where to hunt in 2005. Others will view it as just more indications of perfidy by a rogue government.

The official report that appears to exonerate Out of Africa was written by a Senior Warden of the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority who carries the title, Chief Investigation officer for the western region. You can read the report by clicking on the hyperlink below:

Get important news bulletins like this sent directly to your email 24 hours before anyone else sees them, plus unlimited access to our database of hunt reports and past articles, a special expanded electronic version of our newsletter and more! Upgrade your Hunting Report subscription to Email Extra today. Click here for more information.